15 m"^ 

Cl'2- 



QULLN-RLGNANT JUNL 

By George W. Churchwell 

God crowns thee, June, queen-regnant of the year, 
And breathes His spirit o'er receptive earth. 
That, quickened by the touch, breaks forth in voice 
Of melody, long hushed — now resonant : 
The drowsy hum of wakened sylvan life. 
That floats and dips and rises on the breeze ; 
The swishing cadence lulling fields of grain. 
That wave and sway in undulating swells 
Of verdant sheen — a mirrored rhythm of light 
And shade that mocks old ocean's pulsing gleam. 
^Ah, then to wend 'mid restful rural ways — 
Commune with Nature in her solitudes! 

To penetrate the woodland's tangled maze 
Of sinuous paths that pierce the bosky deeps. 
Where clinging vine and oak are wedded in 
A lock that waits no severance save death. 
And all the leafy canopy outrings 
With melody of mellow-throated notes — 
A symphony that leads you on and on. 
To saunter through the scented, sunlit glades 
And drink in perfume of the fragrant blooms 
That lure the tuneful bees to pause in flight 
And sip in nectar from their honeyed depths. 
The while you seek the fruit of creeping vine — 
The red-hued berry's luscious, cooling pulp — 
And in your stir and eagerness of quest 
Disclose the fire-fly's haunt 'neath dewy leaf. 
To vop ihe lOuiiueu upiana s velvei green, 
Your gaze athwart the daisied meadow plain 
All bathed in haze, wherein contented kine 
Their necks reach down to browse the verdant sweets; 
Within your view the winding silver thread 
In flow from fount to goal 'twi.xt fertile banks. 
Now barred by fleecy cloudlet's fleeting shades. 
That leap from dale to hill in airy bounds; 
While tuneful medley of the lowland choir. 
Ascending, blends in harmony of sound ; 
But over all — resounding, flute-like, clear — 
With action timing well the measured notes — 
Rings out a sweet, reverberating voice: 
The double-quick and halt of robin's gait 
In accent to his whistle o'er the mead. 
^ The orchard, redolent with fragrant sets 
Of promised fruits, a whispered welcome gives. 
And lures you with its gnarly-woven shade 
To rest awhile, to dream, soliloquize 
On all the bounteous gifts of God to man — 

O Heavenly Father, love divine, that notes 
The sparrow's fall, and gives yon shining sphere, 
The worlds we know and those beyond our ken, 
Tlicir motions, seasons, orbits, time and place, 
The kingdom, power and glory Thine alone! 
To 7<s the benison of Thy rich love. 
And earth and air and cloud and rippling stream — 
All — all that have their being by Thy will. 
Bring praises to Thy blessed Holy Name 
In merry, ringing, rosy, joyous June! 

— The Ladies' World. 



^„.A 



IT WAS ONLY A 5PRAY OF BL0550M5 

Copyright, 1906, by Geoi^e Washington Churchwell 

It was only a spray of blossoms 

From the farm-home far away, 
But it lightened the toil and softened the moil 

Of a weary worker's day. 
A whiff of the fragrant petals, 

In their pink and pearly ;;Icam, 
And the worry and wear, the hurry and care 

Were lulled in a boyhood dream. 



:ir'l 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

016 211 682 4 ^ 



Hollinger 

pH 8.5 

Mill Run F03-2193 



